


A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

by dumpacc



Series: Counting Sheep [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Derek Needs To Use His Words, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Derek, Oblivious Stiles, Omega Stiles Stilinski, Pining Stiles, Protective Derek, Romantic Comedy, Secret Identity, Sheriff Stilinski is a Good Dad, Stiles has the worst ideas ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 02:18:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15109766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dumpacc/pseuds/dumpacc
Summary: "What the fuck, Stiles, what the fuck?!""No, no, you don't understand, Scotty, this is the best idea ever!""Because you think registering as a fucking alpha to college when you're actually an omega is the best idea ever? It's not even agoodidea!"___________________________Being an omega, Stiles has few chances to be accepted in the college of his dreams. Registering as an alpha seems like a good idea... until his new roommate, hot-as-the-sun alpha Derek Hale, comes in the equation.





	A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

**Author's Note:**

> hi not the work i’m the proudest of but i still wanted to post it so it wouldn’t go to waste haha. i don't know anything about college in the US, sorry if it's totally inaccurate.  
> henxley university is 100% fictional.

"What the fuck, Stiles, _what the fuck_?!"

"No, no, you don't understand, Scotty, this is the best idea ever!"

"Because you think registering as a fucking alpha to college when you're actually an omega is the best idea ever? It's not even a _good_ idea!"

Stiles bit his lips, frustrated. He had been sure Scott would have been ecstatic when he would announce he had been accepted to Henxley University. He had tried to add as casually as possible that he had ticked "alpha" instead of "omega", and hey, that was just a detail, right? but Scott had decided that wasn't. And now he was just keeping Stiles from watching the youtube video he had started before dropping the bomb.

"Listen, buddy, I need to keep your voice down because I don't want my dad to know, he thinks I applied as an omega and he's so happy for me, but —"

"He doesn't know?!" Scott whimpered. "Oh my god."

"— you have to understand," Stiles ignored him. "I've been dreaming of going to Henxley my entire life! And maybe if the system was fair and didn't privilege gender over grades I would have applied as an omega, but it isn't and — oh no, don't you dare saying anything Mr. Alpha McCall, you know it's true — see, here I am! Listen! I made my research, and the only omegas who have been accepted to Henxley since its foundation were influent politicians' kids or little geniuses like Lydia Martin and such. My dad's just the Sheriff of Beacon Hills, and I'm just little old me, there's no way I could have been accepted if I hadn't done this."

"They are a bunch of jackasses if they don't accept people based on their gender."

"A bunch of jackasses with a formidable historical course," Stiles replied dreamily, but Scott didn’t even acknowledge him.

"You could have just applied as a beta, at least betas are less virulent! What were you thinking?!"

"Well, I figured if I was going to lie, better stack all the odds in my favor?" he explained sheepishly.

Scott sighed.

"This is even worse than I thought, I mean — the sole fact that you don't want your father to know shows that it's a bad idea. How are you even going to hide your scent? Your heats?"

"Suppressants," he shrugged. "And for the scent, well, my dad keeps some alteration pills for undercover cases. They last one month, so one box of these and I can easily pass for an alpha for about half a year."

"This is not the best idea ever, Stiles, this is the fucking worst idea you ever had!" Scott growled as he started pacing around Stiles' room. "There's no way I'm letting my best friend alone at a hundred miles from here rooming with some random alpha! _No way._ I am _so_ telling your dad, dude."

Stiles was starting to get annoyed.

"Hey, don't activate your Protective Alpha Mode with me, you know I hate that. And you also know better than anyone how much it means to me to be accepted to Henxley. I beg you Scott, don't ruin it, you're my best friend and all I ask from you is your support."

That, added to the Bambi pleading eyes he knew his alpha of a best friend couldn't resist, was the last straw. Scott sighed.

"Okay, but don't cry when I say 'I told you so'."

 

 

* * *

 

Scott was right, _maybe_ this was the the fucking worst idea he ever had, he thought as he stared at the dormitory building before him. While he was used to the pleasant smell of betas, as the majority of people were, the second he stepped outside his Jeep in the campus parking lot with his big suitcase, he had been disoriented by an overwhelming alpha scent. It was early evening and a bit crowded, since most of new students were moving in that day. When nobody gave him a second look as he entered the building, he assumed the alteration pill he took before driving to here was doing its job.

"Okay, calm down Stiles, you can do it," he whispered to himself. According to the paper he had been given a few days prior, he had to find room 763.

Thing is, the dormitory was huge, and after spending 10 minutes searching for his room, he was starting to think he wasn't even in the right building. He glanced around him to see if there was anyone who seemed nice enough to help him, when he caught a sweet scent, foreign and familiar at the same time.

This was the smell of an omega.

Somewhat elated and curious to smell a fellow omega in the alpha men building, he blindly followed the scent, bumping a few people who glared at him, until he spotted a the back of a brown-haired girl his age.

"Hey, excuse me," he called, taken aback by her presence. And well, maybe with some luck she would help him, too — he would be lying if he said he wasn't intimidated at all by the number of alphas surrounding him, let alone talking to one of them.

When she didn't answer, he scooted closer and gently touched her arm.

"Hey," he repeated, and everything happened so fast and the next thing he knew he was pinned on the wall by a tall black-haired guy. Sharp green (blue? what was that color even) eyes were glaring at him, a growl exiting pretty pink lips. From his casually shaved beard to his flexing muscles and his defined jaw, everything on that guy screamed alpha, and he was also one of the most handsome guys Stiles had ever seen. He would have swooned if he hadn't trouble breathing — you know, since that alpha guy was practically strangling him by how tightly he was holding the hem of his shirt, pressing him on the wall.

"W-What? What the fuck man?!" Stiles stammered, eyes wide in bewilderment. At least he wasn't shitting his pants. _Yet_.

"Don't fucking touch her," the stranger snarled.

The girl, who had been watching them with the same flabbergasted expression Stiles had (except she wasn't almost pissing in her pants), was starting to regain her senses and approached them carefully. Now that she could see her face, Stiles noticed she looked a lot like his assaulter.

"Come on Derek, he hardly grazed me," she tried to reason him.

"He was trying to grab your arm," he retorted, and then his eyes were back on Stiles. "Your parents never taught you manners or what?"

Feeling a sudden burst of courage at the mention of his parents, Stiles gave him a scandalized look.

"Hey, you don't bring my parents into this, asshat, and for your information, they did, thank you very much. At any rate, you're the one who didn't learn fucking manners — I mean I get, it, she's an omega, you're an alpha and you wanna protect her, yadda, yadda," he blabbered. Fucking alphas and their Protective Alpha Mode. "But you know what, I'm an—!" He stopped himself abruptly. ' _Omega too'_ , he almost said, but then he remembered: he had taken the alteration pills. For everybody out there, he was your friendly neighborhood alpha. 

Only now he was noticing all the commotion they were causing, and that people were starting to gather around him. His pale skin flushed, his blush only glowing further when 'Derek' stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"— nice guy? I'm a very nice guy. Top of the top nice guy. You'll never find a nicer guy than me, you know! And I swear I didn't want to harm your girlfriend —"

"Sister," Derek growled, his face dangerously close.

"Sister," Stiles repeated, ignoring the part of his brain that cheered learning Derek might not have a girlfriend — he was still almost-strangling him, damn it! "She just happens to look a lot like a friend of mine. Her name's Allison, she's also an omega with long dark hair and she's the sweetest girl ever — she's probably even nicer than me. She's top nice girl, and I'm top nice guy, and she's going out with my best friend Scott. Lucky him, being surrounded by the nicest people ever, right? So yeah, I was confused seeing your sister who _totally_ look like my friend Allison, so I called for her and, and, and I think I'll shut up now."

_And that, Stiles, proves how much of a fucking idiot you are_ , Stiles facepalmed himself mentally when he stopped talking. _Along with having the idea to pass for an alpha when you're actually an omega._

Derek eyed him suspiciously, but it seemed to do the trick because a second later he was releasing him. Stiles inhaled a breath of fresh air as people started to leave since the 'fight' was finished, and Derek furrowed thick eyebrows. Waiting for another snarl, Stiles tensed up.

"Okay, sorry."

Stiles looked at him, eyes wide as saucers.

"Sorry? That's all?"

"Did I… hurt you anywhere?" he asked, his tone growing hesitant.

"Huh, other than my ego, no."

"Okay then, sorry," he repeated, and without further words he left the scene, his sister following him after glancing at Stiles apologetically.

 

* * *

 

"God Stiles, I knew this was a fucking bad idea," Scott moaned over the phone after Stiles recounted his daily misfortunes to his best friend. In the end, he had managed to find room 763 thanks to a nice alpha boy called Danny. When he had entered the room, half of it had already been equipped, but his roommate hadn't been inside. It had been dinner time but he had eaten snacks during all the drive from Beacon Hills to Henxley, so he had just suited for unpacking and calling Scott. 

"You're going to get mauled by the end of the week," Scott added helpfully.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, pal," Stiles retorted as he tried to fit his last tee-shirt inside his drawer. When he managed to close it, he finally allowed himself to stumble into his bed, smelling the scent of fresh linens. "You know I've been through worse. I mean, I've spent eight years in Jackson Whittemore's class."

"Yeah but Jackson was just a beta with some kind inferiority slash superiority complex, he wasn’t dangerous."

"Yeah, right, it wasn't dangerous when he almost broke my leg in 7th grade."

"I'm not defending him, but you know it was an accident! And back then you had at least your father and I to defend you but now you're on your own and everybody thinks you're an alpha in a world of alphas!"

"Scott, breathe. My dad’s the sheriff, he taught me how to fend for myself."

"Like you fended for yourself during those eight years with Jackson Whittemore?"

"Shut up, turning my own argument against me is cheating!"

"What do you want me to say after learning you've been assaulted by a caveman thirty minutes after arriving?"

"First of all, he wasn't a caveman. He was a _hot_ caveman. And second, he did it because he thought I was an alpha and he was right about how inappropriate it is for an alpha to touch an omega without warning. Not that I was trying to touch _touch_ her, and he _did_ kinda overreact, but it was kind of sweet too."

"I thought you hated the 'Protective Alpha Mode'," Scott badly mimicked Stiles' voice in a high-pitched tone.

"This is Hot Caveman we're talking about," Stiles shrugged even though he knew Scott couldn't see him. "I got a fear boner because of him."

"I didn't need to know that."

The door of his room slammed open and Stiles straightened up.

"Gotta go bud, my roommate's here!" he said as he hanged up, and peeked at the doorway. "Hey dude, my name's Stiles and I'm your new roommate," he started before his heart jumped at the sight of a tall bearded man.

Fuck. This was the guy from before.

"Huh, Derek, right?" he asked hesitantly, trying to fight a blush from his cheeks to no avail, hoping hot caveman didn't hear his conversation with Scott. "Came here to apologize again or something?"

Derek frowned slightly.

"No, I live here."

Stiles's mouth hang open, and he looked at him in bewilderment, for the second time that day.

The fact that Stiles couldn't tear apart his gaze from Derek's flexing muscles as he gestured to the other side of the room gave him an indication to how screwed he was. (And that he wouldn't mind being screwed either.)

This year was going to be torture.

 

* * *

 

Fortunately (or unfortunately), Derek didn't spend much time in his room, and Stiles hardly saw him during his first month at Henxley — he was almost sure there were some nights Derek didn't even sleep there. 

During that first month, it hadn't been that hard pretending he was an alpha, all he had to do was to stick out his chest a little and nobody gave him a second look. At lunch, he was usually eating with a few people from his folklore course: a blonde alpha called Erica and two betas, Isaac and Boyd. They hardly chatted, looking more like four people juxtaposed on a table than a group of friends, and Stiles didn't really mind. He was used to have Scott as his only friend, and the lesser people got to know him, the easier it was to keep his gender secret, even if it meant being a little lonely.

 

* * *

 

So of course fate decided to bring an end to his month of peace.

It was Friday when a brown-haired girl decided to sit at their table, next to Isaac who was in front of Stiles. He almost spitted everything in his mouth as he recognized her right away: it was the omega girl from that first day, Derek's sister. To his surprise, she started to talk to Isaac in a very casual way, ignoring Stiles until their eyes met and her face shifted so abruptly it was almost comical. 

"You're the blabbering alpha!" she blurted out in recognition.

Stiles' pale cheek flushed in dreadful embarrassment. So that's what he'd be remembered for, the 'blabbering alpha'. But the girl started to grin.

"And you're Derek's roommate! I'm Cora, his sister."

"Yeah, I figured. And the name's Stiles," Stiles mumbled.

"Wait, you're Derek's roommate?"

Now Isaac was looking at him with wide eyes. Erica and Boyd were watching them too, somehow interested with the way the conversation was going.

"Huh, yeah, why, you guys know him?"

"Isaac's a friend of his, but Boyd and I just know him from afar. Since he's kind of famous around the campus, you know, being a Hale and all."

Stiles' eyes darted between the four of them. He opened and closed his mouth twice, imitating a fish perfectly, before replying:

"I don't think I'm following what you're saying? Hum, are you guys famous?" he asked as he turned to face Cora. After a quick thinking, he realized Cora was an omega and there was no way she could have entered unless she was a little genius, or if her parents were somehow important.

Cora just raised her eyebrows, but didn't seem to mind his question.

"Well, not really. Our mom is a board member of Henxley and our dad is a local politician, but people are making a big deal out of nothing. Derek is particularly famous because for some reason, people find him hot," she explained, emitting a small noise of disgust at her final words.

"I can see why," Stiles chuckled, before remembering who he was talking to. He was deep red in a second, cursing mentally his apparently non-existent brain-to-mouth filter. "I mean, objectively he's really handsome, you know the way he's all green eyes and muscle-y aaaand I'm just making it worse," he whined as he heard Erica laugh loudly. "Please don't tell him I said that, I don't want him to be weirded out or to feel uncomfortable rooming with me. Not that he's much around, so…" he finished dejectedly.

"You're blabbering again," Cora said, the smirk not leaving her face. "You're really different from theother alphas I know."

Stiles' heart missed a beat.

"O-Oh, really?" Stiles croaked out, feeling suddenly cold.

"Yeah — ah, I meant it in a good way! Most of them are so full of themselves, you know, being so proud and talking to you like you're some dirty peasant, and the worst thing is that they usually don't even do it on purpose. I know, two thirds of my entire family are alphas. No offense, Erica."

"None taken," Erica replied with an easy grin. "It's kind of true anyway."

Stiles also knew that too well — not that his dad or Scott ever talked to him condescendingly, but sometimes he was a bit overwhelmed by their… _alphaness —_ that unspoken agreement that there was some sort of competition between alphas, their growliness when they felt something was wrong, or what Stiles liked to call the Protective Alpha Mode (PAM to friends) were some examples. 

In any case, Stiles decided he liked Cora right away, but it didn't keep him from telling himself to be more careful about the way he acted from now on.

 

* * *

 

Since then, Cora started to eat with the four of them everyday. Coincidentally, Derek started to hang more and more around the room too. At first, he was ignoring Stiles, minding his own business and being pretty, but Stiles couldn't help to fidget at the awkwardness of the situation. That, and he was helplessly attracted to Derek and hoped it wasn't too obvious. 

For three weeks they kept ignoring each other (or rather, Stiles tried to pretend Derek wasn't there, which was proven to be difficult when Derek was doing push-ups in a tank top in his side of the room), and Stiles wondered if the so-called college experience was that awkward for everyone. 

Then, one night, as Stiles was slumped in his bed and scrolling through Netflix to find something to watch, he heard Derek clearing his throat. From very close. Stiles jumped and lifted his head and _oh god Derek was standing right in from of him_ and _was it weird for Stiles to notice his crotch was at eye-level?_

"Yes?" he asked, the tone a bit harsh even to his ears because of the surprise.

Derek crossed his arms defensively.

"I know what you've been doing."

Stiles blinked once, then twice. Wait — today had been two months he arrived here, Derek hadn't seen him taking the alteration pills this morning, right? He felt himself sweat.

"W-What have I been doing?" he spluttered.

"I said it before, so don't make me repeat it a next time. Don't. Touch. My. Sister," Derek growled, punctuating each syllable with a strong poke to Stiles' chest.

Stiles' eyes went comically wide as the information reached his brain. Then he couldn't stop laughing, relieved.

"What?! You think I wanna bone Cora?"

Derek grimaced.

"Don't play innocent, I know you've been eating with her everyday," he spat. "And don't say it like it's impossible to want Cora, she's a fine woman," he added after some consideration.

"Hey, you have to make up your mind, you want me to want her or not?" He laughed even more.

Derek was looking mildly offended, and huffed in frustration. 

"Come on man, she's just a friend. I _do_ eat lunch with her, but so do Isaac, Boyd and Erica. And last that I've known, I don't want to getting fricky-fracky (' _Never use that word again_ ', he heard Derek mutter) with them either. Plus, it's the number one forbidden rule of the bro code. Never date your bro's sister."

"We're not bros," Derek rolled his eyes, but Stiles could see the hint of a smile.

"We'll be. Wanna watch a movie?" he offered with a cheeky grin, turning his laptop to Derek, who only grunted.

Stiles wasn't sure what it meant before the mattress dug under Derek's weight, and then Derek was on his bed next to him.

(But the night was spent G-rated, to Stiles' dismay.)

 

* * *

  

That night was like an opening door in Stiles' life. Now that he knew Stiles wasn't a creepy alpha who wanted to bang his sister, Derek became way less reluctant to spend time with him. They kept watching a movie together every week, and sometimes Derek even came to eat with Stiles' little group of friends. And Derek, behind his grumpy facade and broody self, was in fact one of the sweetest alphas ever, Stiles concluded. He treated omegas with respect, he didn't patronize them, he was thoughtful, and actually quite shy.

It was a Monday, and on Monday, Stiles finished classes early. He was on his way to the dormitories when he heard Derek's ever-so-growly voice behind a building. Wondering what he was up to, he sauntered to where he thought the voice was from and finally saw Derek talking to a blonde woman — an alpha. It didn't seem like a pleasant conversation — the woman was smirking haughtily, and Derek was practically growling. But what struck Stiles the most was the distressed scent emanating from Derek, and caught off guard, he acted without thinking.

"Derek!" he called as he approached them. "Didn't you have to see Pr. James?" he smoothly lied to give Derek a way out.

Derek jumped a bit, startled, and turned to Stiles with wide eyes. He actually seemed grateful to see Stiles — something Stiles never thought would be possible. He glanced at the blonde woman.

"Right, I'll have to go. Kate," he saluted coldly as he started to walk toward Stiles.

The woman snorted, crossing her arms on her chest.

"No gonna introduce us?" she said, not at all fazed by Derek glaring at her. She looked at Stiles up and down with disdain. "An alpha, huh? I thought you stopped with that."

Derek's face contorted in rage, and Stiles reacted quickly as he saw Derek was probably ready to punch that Kate in the face. Omegas' touches always calmed down alphas, and even if Stiles took pills to alter his scent, it didn't actually change the composition of hormones. He gently touched Derek's arm before the older man could try anything. Don't get him wrong, Kate probably deserved a good punch, but he didn't want Derek to get in trouble for getting in a fight on school grounds.

"It's not worth it, Derek. Come on."

As soon as Stiles brushed Derek's arm, the older man deflated. He blinked a few times, somewhat confused, but he was still looking angry.

"You're right. Let's go," he said, and he left without a second glance at Kate.

Stiles followed him silently — he didn't like to use his touches to "control" an alpha's feelings, more so when he had to _hide_ the fact he was an omega. He didn't know where they were going but didn't dare to break the silence.

"Thank you," Derek suddenly said as he stopped abruptly. They were near a fountain, not too far from their dorms.

"Uh?"

"For, you know, giving me a way out. And for stopping me from hitting her. I bet she was waiting for me to punch her so she could report me."

Stiles awkwardly coughed. "Oh yeah, no big deal. I-I mean, always there to help out a friend, right?"

To his surprise, Derek laughed, and damn, he was so beautiful when he was laughing. How his eyes crinkled and god, he had bunny teeth. Stiles' heart was melting — as if he needed something else to fuel his already as-big-as-the-Earth crush on Derek Hale.

"Yeah, we're friends," Derek repeated with a smile.

"What's her deal anyway?"

Derek's smile faltered and no no no, Stiles still wanted to see it, but the older man looked away.

"She's an ex of mine, and let's say we didn't break up in good terms. I usually try to avoid her, because she's always trying to provoke me when we see each other and I plainly can't stand to see her in my sight, but she studies here and sometimes encounters happen. Thank god she's graduating next year."

Oh, an ex. It was true Kate was a beautiful woman, nothing like good old gangly Stiles, and she probably used to look very nice next to Derek. But according to Derek, she was a snake. Stiles had a good personality, at least. Well, he hoped Derek was thinking so.

"Stiles?" Derek asked when the younger man didn't answer, looking at him in the eyes. God, his eyes were wonderful. Stiles was dying inside. 

"Let's have coffee together," he blurted out before he could stop. "Nothing better than a good coffee cup between bros," he immediately said not to arise suspicions. "If you're not busy, that is."

Ladies and gentlemen, this was Stiles Stilinski, a train ready to crash.

Derek lifted an eyebrow, then smiled.

"I'm not busy."

 

* * *

 

 

They settled for a coffee shop on the campus. Derek brought them there, Stiles wasn't familiar with where to find the nice shops on campus yet.

They ordered their coffee and went to sit in a booth far from the door. 

"So, uh, this Kate, what did she do to you?"

Derek's mouth twisted in discomfort. Ugh, his mouth was so enticing.

"You don't have to talk about it, sorry," Stiles immediately said. He felt so stupid, Derek and him were not close, so there was no reason he would reveal his tragic backstory.

Derek eyed him for a moment, before he finally shrugged.

"Let's just say she's the reason why I'm so protective of my sister," he said, playing with the lid of his coffee cup.

"Oh right, you even pinned me to the wall that first day," Stiles laughed lightly.

Derek winced.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Stiles tried to brush it off. It was becoming more and more awkward. Abort!

"No, really, I'm overprotective with her, but it's no excuse for manhandling you like that" ( _you could manhandle me in other circumstances,_ that damned part of Stiles' brain whispered) "so sorry for freaking out on you for no reason."

Stiles' brows furrowed, and he pointedly looked at Derek.

"Hey, Derek, listen. I forgive you, okay? I understand if you freaked out. I was a strange alpha touching your omega sister. You had every reason to get angry."

"You sure?"

"Never been so sure," Stiles answered solemnly.

Derek snorted, before watching Stiles take a sip of his coffee. He had a soft, sheepish smile, and he had never looked at Stiles this way before. Stiles could hear his heart thump on his chest like a hammer. Derek was hot like the burning sun. It wasn't fair.  


* * *

 

From this day, Derek had become way more open with Stiles. He had probably felt guilty before, and now that Stiles explicitly forgave him, he was more comfortable.

He was actually a very friendly guy once you knew him, Stiles thought. Even touchy-feely. When they were watching their weekly movie, Derek usually sat so close to Stiles that their shoulders and legs bumped together. He wasn't sure if Derek did it on purpose or if it was unconscious, but he wasn't going to complain.

He told Cora about the touchy-feely bit as they ate lunch together.

"What?!" she said, before she laughed. "Derek? Touch-starved?"

"Yes, he must miss your family a lot or something."

Cora stared at him, before her face blossomed in a smile.

"Right, he misses our family," she said. "Keep me updated."

"On what?"

"On Derek."

"Oookay," Stiles said, watching Cora swallowing the last bit of her sandwich in one go.

 

* * *

 

"Stiles, wake up," he heard a deep voice calling him.

Stiles groggily woke up, trying to assess his surroundings. His back hurt like a bitch. He opened his eyes to see Derek stare at him.

Suddenly totally aware, Stiles looked around him. He had fell asleep in the library. Judging by the sky outside, it was almost night.

"Don't fall asleep in places like this," Derek groggily said. "It's a pain to look for you."

"I didn't ask you to," Stiles pouted.

Derek only glared at him while Stiles hurried to put his stuff in his bag. They left the building together.

"You don't have to study until exhaustion," Derek sternly stated.

"Right."

He had come home for Christmas, making sure the holidays matched the fading effects of the pills so his dad didn't notice his weird scent, but now he was already back at Henxley, and with that came finals. It was the end of winter, but it was still freezing outside at night. He looked at Derek, who was wearing a big coat and a scarf, his ears and cheeks red from the cold. Stiles felt guilty to have Derek look for him under this temperature (even though it was kind of adorable).

"Maybe we could study together," Stiles suggested before he could stop himself.

They were back to the dorms, already walking down the hall. Derek looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

"I mean, you have your finals too, and I can't promise you I won't fall asleep again like that so… Maybe we could study together? So we can, like, watch each other so we make sure we're not distracted by our phones or something. I don't know? You can say no."

Derek muttered something under his breath. Stiles only understood the words "lips" and "distraction", but Stiles didn't manage to guess what he wanted to say so he let it be.

"Derek? You don't have to say yes if you don't want to," he clarified again.

Derek opened the door of their room, still not saying anything. When they were both inside the room, he finally said:

"Yes, okay. It's a good idea."

Stiles beamed at him.

 

* * *

 

 

Having Derek in your entourage, Stiles learned, was kind of an attention drawer, and people started to talk to him more and more. In high school, he used to be a nobody (even though he was one of the few omegas of Beacon Hills) and had hoped it would change when he entered college, but that was before he started to pretend he was an alpha. And now, he didn't like the reasons he was now being noticed either.

"Hey, so… How did you become so close with Derek Hale?" a busty beta brunette asked as he got out from his physics class, on a Thursday afternoon. Stiles rolled his eyes. It was already a bad day because he just got out from Harris' class, and Harris was a classified #1 asshole whose goal was to make Stiles' life a living hell. Now at least, she went straight to the point and didn't pretend to play friends with him before asking him about Derek like the ten people before her had done.

"We're not _that_ close," he gritted out, starting to walk faster, but the girl kept with his pace.

"Come on, he's always lurking in his corner alone, but people saw you studying with him in the library."

Indeed, Stiles and Derek met almost every day after class to study — and it was awesome, really. Derek explained things to him when he didn't get it, since the year before the alpha had taken some of the classes Stiles had. Surprisingly, Derek had a lot of patience. Sometimes, Stiles got distracted by Derek's face, staring at his long eyelashes and pink lips as Derek read his papers, deep in concentration. Derek probably caught him at least once or twice, but if he did, he hadn't said anything. 

"He's friends with Isaac Lahey, and now with Vernon Boyd and Erica Reyes. Why don't you go see them instead of following me? Or, you know, go talk to Derek by yourself?" Stiles finally said to the girl.

"Derek isn't from the same league as us, you understand that? But I mean, you're all lanky and scrawny and nerdy even if you're an alpha, and you still managed to be friends with him…" she trailed off as she eyed him judgmentally. "So people are starting to hope they could be too."

"Oh my god, can you please leave me alone if you're just going to insult me?" he sighed as he headed for his dorm. 

He wasn't a real alpha, so he couldn't manage to seem menacing enough to the beta. He tried to ignore her, but she followed him until they were in front of the building, babbling about how he didn't really deserve Derek's attention in comparison to more alluring people (like her), wondering how a guy as annoyingly talkative as him could draw Derek's attention, asking him about how it was to room with Derek, 'do you sneak peek? have you seen him naked?', telling him how he should probably back off to let other 'better' people enter Derek's circle, how he was selfish to keep Derek all for himself, and then, all at once, she shut up. Stiles was so relieved he almost pumped a fist in victory, until he heard her say in a pleasant voice:

"Hey Derek!"

Derek was making his way to the front door, probably going out, scowling more than usual. And he frowned even more, if possible, when he saw Stiles and the girl waving at him. 

"Stiles," he acknowledged by a curt nod. "And…"

"Jennifer," she answered languidly, her demeanor changing to a seductive one. It was ridiculous.

Derek, who was avoiding Stiles' eyes since the girl chatted him up peeked a look at Stiles' face, which was contorted in anger.

"… A problem here?"

"Yes, yes, she's my problem because this bitch won't leave me alone!" he screamed, deciding he couldn't stand her anymore.

The beta immediately ducked her head, her eyes watering, and left with a small "Sorry". What the fuck?! Acting compliant when Derek was there when she obviously hadn't care when he had politely asked her to fuck off before. Stiles huffed a laugh out of frustration, almost hysterical.

Hearing him, Derek looked at him with wide eyes, probably misunderstanding the whole situation.

"What the hell, Stiles?" he growled. "You're an alpha, you know how betas and omegas feel when you shout at them! How are they going to feel safe if all alphas had anger management issue, and took pleasure in doing this? If they used their alpha status and assets to command them whenever?! We—We're not feral beasts!"

What?! Stiles opened his mouth and closed it silently, to shocked to say anything. He agreed with Derek: alphas should never take advantage of betas and omegas using their empowered genetics, but _he didn't fucking use any alpha assets or whatever that meant_ , he wanted to scream, _because he wasn't a fucking alpha in the first place!_ And how ironical was that Derek was barking at him, an omega, about not barking at betas and omega?! But he just couldn't say that and instead, he settled his anger elsewhere:

" _I_ have anger management issue? _You'_ re the one who almost choked me against a wall on my first day here!"

"It was a mistake, and I said sorry! And you're an alpha too, at least!"

"Yeah, because I'm an alpha, I don't deserve any respect. And we all know sorry can repair everything. Wow, thanks for the tip."

"Stop that sarcastic bullshit, Stiles. _You_ were the one who _said_ you forgave me for that!"

"Well, that was until you decided you had the right to tell me I had 'anger management issue'!" he retorted, imitating quotation marks in the air even though he knew it was childish.

"God Stiles, what do you want me to do? To grovel at your feet for forgiveness?"

"That would be a start. Or you know, you could leave me the fuck alone too," he spat bitterly, before purposely bumping into Derek's shoulder as he made his way to their room. A bad idea, because his shoulder ached now.

His heart started to ache too when he realized Derek didn't follow him.

 

* * *

 

They were back at ignoring each other. Like at the start, Derek would hardly be seen in the room. The only proof he was coming from times to times was his bed which was sometimes done and undone, or his wet toothbrush, but there were some nights he didn't even come back to sleep. Where did he even go? Stiles would lie if he said he didn't feel a bit miserable. Derek was hot, sure, but he was much more than that. He could be an asshole, but under his grumpiness, he was snarky, fun in his own way, smart, and Stiles missed his company a lot. Hell, he wasn't just attracted to Derek, he _liked_ him. But Stiles was also the one who basically told him to fuck off.

Wednesday was their usual movie night, but since Derek wasn't around anymore, that evening Stiles was left brooding alone in his bed, surfing on Facebook. He was starting to fall asleep when his phone rang, making him jump slightly and looked at the screen. It was his dad. Shit, when was the last time he had called him? He fumbled as he picked up the phone.

"Heyyy, dad, what a surprise!"

"Hey Stiles, already forgetting your old man? It's been two weeks since I last heard of you. Checking if you're not dead or something."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Lots of work."

"Studying hard?"

"Yes… I'm pretty exhausted, to be honest."

There was a pause before his dad spoke again.

"Listen Stiles, I know that at this time of the year you don't really have the time to come back to Beacon Hills, so I was thinking… Maybe I could come and visit you at Henxley? You know, just for the week-end? I mean, it's been three months we haven't see each other. I'm not going to disturb you I promise, just, let's have lunch, or dinner? And I'll spend my week-end visiting the city," his dad said, his voice hopeful, but not too much as he obviously didn't want to pressure Stiles.

Stiles understood. Since his mother's death, it had always been his father and him. Even when the Sheriff came late, he always made sure Stiles had eaten, Stiles had a good day at school, Stiles had done his homework, Stiles was okay. They were the only family left to each other, but now they were on their own. Stiles felt too much the need to see him too.

But shit, the schedule was wrong. He just had taken the last alteration pills two weeks ago, and the effects wouldn't fade before two other weeks, and he absolutely didn't want how to explain to his dad why he smelled like a damn alpha.

"Yeah, yeah, of course! Just, can you come in two weeks maybe? I'm kind of in a rush these days."

"No problem, son," he could hear his father's smile in his voice, and Stiles felt proud of himself. "See you in two weeks, then."

As he hang up, the door was silently opened, and Derek appeared. Stiles stared at him, mouth hang open, and Derek stared at Stiles back like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Hey," Derek said, flustered.

"H-Hey."

"You're not sleeping," it was more of a statement than a question.

"Obviously I sleep with my eyes open, and I can still speak in my slumber," Stiles retorted, a bit hurt by the fact Derek wanted to avoid him so much he purposely came back when he was still sleeping, and leave before Stiles woke up. Who even put so much effort into avoiding someone?!

Derek winced a bit at his words, and Stiles wanted to apologize, because god knows how much he had missed Derek, and he couldn't believe they were arguing because of some nameless beta, but then Derek frowned.

"Still annoyingly sarcastic, I see," he said before making his way to his bed.

Stiles felt a pang to his chest at the harsh words, but made sure his pain wasn't showing on his face. 'Annoying' was the word the beta had used to describe him and he didn't care about her opinion, but now that Derek had said it, he couldn't help but wonder.

 

* * *

 

 

The effects of the pills lasted until Friday, the day right before his dad was coming. He had panicked a bit because it faded so late, but it all turned good. In the end, he didn't come to class that day for obvious reasons, and in any case he really had to finish his assignments, so staying in his room actually did him good. 

When night came, he drenched himself in cheap perfume in case Derek came back to spend the night. However, when he woke up on Saturday morning, sweating a bit in his covers, he was relieved (but still a bit disappointed) to find out Derek was nowhere to be seen.

He was taking his breakfast when his father texted him, saying he had booked a room close to Henxley and that he would arrive in two hours. True to his words, John Stilinski parked in front of Henxley University at eleven, and got out from his car.

"What are you doing in your Jeep, Stiles?" he said, walking up to Stiles when he noticed his son waving at him from his opened window. They had agreed to meet in front of the building, but Stiles couldn't really wait in the open smelling like an omega, especially since now he was known to be the lanky alpha hanging out with Derek Hale ( _or used to, at least_ , he though dejectedly). He had hoped waiting in his car would block the scent a bit. He felt like some kind of fugitive, he thought as he shrugged at his father.

"Was kind of excited to see you." It wasn't a total lie.

His father smiled and got in the passenger seat.

"Oh god Stiles, you reek!"

Stiles' face reddened. He was still smelling like the cheap perfume he had used the night before.

"Huh, yeah… I bought this perfume the other day but it was obviously a mistake."

"It happens," John laughed as Stiles started up the engine, still flustered.

"Isn't it a bit warm today for a February morning?" he tried to change the subject.  
His dad shrugged with a smile. "If you say so."

Stiles had chosen a restaurant far from Henxley campus, in case he bumped into someone from the university while he smelled his natural omega scent — strawberry sweet rather than the basic and cliché mint-and-pines alpha scent —, and naturally that's why the first thing he heard when he opened the door to the restaurant was Isaac's voice.

"Welc— hey, Stiles!"

The universe officially hated him.

Isaac was standing in front of the door, two empty plates in hand and smiling at them. Stiles shifted awkwardly.

"Hey Isaac," he answered. "I didn't know you worked here."

"Oh, I started a few weeks ago," Isaac replied. He looked at John questioningly.

"Hum, dad, this is Isaac, a friend from Henxley. Isaac, this is my dad."

Both of them shared a firm handshake, and Isaac made a motion to lead them to their table. Then, as Stiles and John both sat, Isaac sniffed the air, and grimaced a bit. John chuckled.

"If you smell something weird, it's Stiles. He bought bad perfume."

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah," Stiles croaked out.

Isaac looked at him weirdly, before leaving the menus with them. As usual, Stiles made his father choose something healthy and green and ordered for himself some meat and curly fries. Isaac took their order and later served their meals without a word, but he kept staring at Stiles as if it was some kind of freak show.

"Your friend is kinda weird, staring you like that," his dad said as he ate a mouthful of salad with a grimace when Isaac was gone. "Maybe it's the odor."

"Won't you stop with that?" Stiles laughed, but it came a bit too high-pitched to be natural. John didn't seem to question it, he just smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. It's just that, at home, I almost can't smell your scent anymore. It has always been lingering before, but since now you're not around, it's gone. I missed it, so I'm a bit disappointed you have that weird smell around you. But hey, at least it's fading out, I can already smell your usual scent right now."

Stiles never experienced so many emotions in so few words. First nostalgia, sadness, delight, and all at once panic and horror. At the corner of his eye, he could see Isaac was still staring at him pointedly from where he was serving the other clients. 

' _Come on Stiles_ ,' he thought to himself. ' _At least finish your plate calmly.'_

He did manage to finish his plate in a more or less collected way, but as soon as he was finished, he scrambled on his feet, and left a few banknotes on the table. His dad, who had finished eating a while earlier, looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are we in a hurry?"

"Kind of, let's go!"

He was almost running for the door when Isaac appeared in front of it, blocking his way and Stiles abruptly stopped — Isaac didn't touch Stiles, only hovered his hand on the omega's arm hesitantly.

"Stiles, wait, please."

Stiles closed his eyes and took a deep inspiration. He didn't want to cause a scene, and it was a conversation he had to have sooner or later. It was useless to avoid it.

His dad, who was still behind Stiles, looked confused. But when he saw the tension stressing Stiles' shoulders, he took a step forward and frowned at Isaac menacingly.

"A problem, young man?"

Isaac seemed to shrink a little.

"Oh my god, dad please stop. You know I hate the PAM," his father rolled his eyes, "and I just need to talk to Isaac. In private."

John eyed him, then Isaac, unimpressed, before gesturing the beta to move from the door.

"I guess I'll just wait in the car."

Isaac nodded, and asked one of his coworker to cover for him for five minutes. Then, he brought Stiles outside. As they stepped out from the restaurant, a cold wind whipped Stiles' cheeks, but the apprehension and adrenaline he was experiencing at the moment was making him hot and sweaty.

"You're an omega," Isaac stated, still in shock.

"Duh, obviously."

"No, not ' _obviously_ '! Fuck, I thought you were an alpha!"

"Well, that was the point of the whole thing."

"Okay, so you're not going to explain it to me… Does Derek know, at least?"

"Derek? Why would Derek know?"

Isaac raised an eyebrow, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Huh… He's your roommate? And an alpha? He could have smelled you, and — oh my god, you were rooming with an alpha the whole time. Don't you have any sense of preservation?"

Stiles snorted.

"As if Derek could see me as a potential partner, omega or not." Stiles ignored how Isaac squinted his eyes at his words. "And anyway, he hasn't really been around our room much, lately."

"I know, he's been sleeping on my couch almost every night. By the way, it would be cool if you two sorted out that… thing between you too, because I would really like to have my girlfriend over without some hot alpha accidentally seducing her by lazying in my living room."

Stiles genuinely laughed. He was relieved Isaac was taking the whole thing quite well.

"Anyway, I think I'll spend a day or two processing the information. You probably have your reasons and I respect that. I won't ask you anything, I won't tell anything, and I guess I'll try to keep Derek in my room for the week end… even though my head is a volcano right now. I won't lie, I would still love some explanation one day."

"Thanks, dude, really, you don't know how much it means to me. I wouldn't mind telling you about it later, but my dad's waiting and…"

"Yeah— yeah, of course, I know, go ahead."

"Thanks again."

"Oh, but you really should tell Derek everything."

Stiles grimaced a bit, however Isaac was already going back in the restaurant.

 

* * *

 

In the end, Stiles spent the whole week end with his father ('Why do you want to sleep at the hotel with me? You got your own room don't you?' 'Wanna spend as much time as possible with you of course') and didn't come back to the dorms until Sunday evening, making sure he took the alteration pills between the moment he left his dad and the moment he entered his room, that warm feeling following him since the day before still lingering in his chest. He was probably happy to have been able to see his dad, he thought as he opened the door.

To his biggest surprise, Derek was there. Frowning, arms crossed, he was standing in the middle of the room in all his prettiness, like he had been waiting for Stiles for hours. He also seemed furious. (it was Derek's usual face, so who knows?)

Still, Stiles' breath hitched. Isaac hadn't said anything, right? He had promised he wouldn't!

Stiles carefully made his way to his bed, but Derek blocked his path. Chest sticking out, almost touching Stiles, he scowled menacingly. The room felt hotter and hotter.

"I'm sorry."

Wait, what?

Stiles stared at Derek, thinking he had misheard.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry," Derek repeated, wincing. "For lashing out at you last time. I had a lot on my mind at that time and I just… vented on you. It's no excuse, but still. Sorry."

Stiles opened his mouth, closed it, then reopened it in the most realist imitation of a fish.

"I… I forgive you?"

Derek looked like he just ate something awful.

"You shouldn't be answering by a question."

"Huh. Yeah, I guess?"

Derek sighed, his face contorting in pain. Brain pain. Caused by Stiles.

"Listen, Stiles, I really need to tell you something, and please don't freak out okay? So I said I had a lot on my mind that day, and the thing is, I was mainly thinking of you."

"Wha—"

"Wait, let me finish. I— I used to have a girlfriend, back in high school. Her name was Kate. Remember her? That blonde girl, the other day. She was an alpha, she was pretty, she was older, and she said she loved me. It was easy to fall in love. Well, until I found out she used me so she could terrorize Cora, an omega, into extracting information about my father, because Kate's father was his politic rival or something. And she did it by, you know, using her alpha assets, that's why this sort of things is a bit touchy for me, and why I'm so overprotective of Cora."

"Derek, you know I would never do that," Stiles said softly, processing the information. It was fucking terrible and fuck that Kate, but he didn't say anything about this, because Derek knew that better than anyone and he probably didn't need anyone to point that out for him. Stiles felt a drop of sweat pearling on his forehead. It felt hot, hot hot —

"I know — I know," Derek assured. "The thing is — I kind of started to despise all alphas that weren't my family, even if I was one myself. I _know_ that I'm not a beast, and rationally, I know that other alphas aren't beasts either. But I was scared to find out, you know? What if we were just really some kind of animals who just thought on instinct, in the end? And then, I met you. You were an alpha, I despised other alphas, and yet, getting to know you, I couldn't bring myself to care about whether you were an alpha, a beta or an omega. I just… really liked to be around you. It felt easy, safe, it felt _right._ It was as simple as that."

But Stiles was half listening by the last sentence. His mind stopped at the word 'omega'. Right, he was a fucking omega, and he felt fucking hot since a few days even though it was February, and he was fucking sweating.

The signs of an upcoming heat.

Fuck.

He forgot to take the suppressant last month, with all the work he had to do and his dad coming here and everything he had to plan. The signs had started two days ago, meaning he was probably going to go in heat today. Maybe in a few hours. Maybe in a few minutes. He couldn't stay here. He had to leave. It could be a matter of seconds, now —  
And of course, as soon as the thought came, he was feeling the slicking fluid in the crack of his butt.

Derek, blissfully unaware of Stiles' torment, peeked at him nervously, probably waiting for some reaction. Stiles' eyes were widening comically, mouth hanging open, cheeks flushed, but not for the reasons Derek probably thought.

"Say something," the older man pleaded. "I missed you during that last month. I… I like you. A lot."

But Stiles didn't say anything. He did the thing he did the best.

He fucking ran.

 

* * *

  

Isaac had an apartment outside campus. It was small, but enough for one man living alone.

"I'm not really some kind of youth hostel, you and Derek know that?"

Stiles moaned at the mention of Derek's name.

"Oh my god," he heard Isaac sigh in a plaintive tone from his own room.

Isaac was the only person he could turn to at the moment. It was perfect anyway : he lived alone, he knew Stiles was an omega, and he was a beta — thus not affected by heat pheromones.

Stiles had taken the couch in the small living-room-slash-kitchen to spend his heat there. On normal days, Isaac usually stayed hauled in his room on when he was at home, so it wasn't like hosting Stiles changed anything to his routine. He just made sure Stiles drank water and ate. Stiles had promised to pay back for all the extra groceries, but Isaac shrugged it off. "You really think I'm so heartless I would make a omega in heat pay for his food?" he had said.

It had been four days since he abruptly left Derek, and the heat was coming to an end. He was regaining his sense gradually, and realized he had spent his week fantasizing and masturbating about Derek, in all positions and shapes. Blowing Derek. Biting Derek. Being fucked by Derek. Making love with Derek. It was mortifying. The most mortifying part is that he was starting to remember the conversation he had left Derek with. Derek probably thought Stiles had freaked out at his confession.

Fuck.

It had been a confession, right?

He reached for the glass of water Isaac had left on the coffee table next to the couch.

"I'm sorry, Isaac," he called in a tired voice. "And thank you, really."

"You already told me that. Whatever man, I just want you and Derek to make up and make out, preferably far away from me."

 

* * *

 

On the fifth day, heat ended. Stiles took a refreshing shower, profusely thanked Isaac for the fourth time, left a bit of cash in the kitchen knowing Isaac wouldn't accept it otherwise, and walked back to the campus.

He had thought a lot that night. Derek liked him. He liked Derek. But he couldn't start something — _anything_ — off a lie. If Derek still wanted to have him, that was. Maybe Stiles' "rejection" rebutted him, or maybe the fact that Stiles lied to him was going to repulse him—

His steps were becoming more and more hesitant by the time he reached the alpha dorm. The heat had sped up his metabolism, so the alteration pills hadn't any effects any more, and he could show Derek who he really was. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here, smelling like an omega, when everyone could recognize him. But he had no other choice — there was no way he was confronting Derek in class, and he decided stalking him wasn't the best idea either. After heats, omegas tended not to smell too strong, so maybe it could help.

He hadn't expected to see Cora leaving the alpha men building, a small bag in her hands.

"Stiles?!" she exclaimed when seeing him. He gulped. Cora looked less than pleased.

Hell, she looked furious.

"What are you fucking doing here?" she seethed, striding at him.

Fuck stereotypes, she was an omega, but she was the most terrifying person Stiles had ever seen. Without counting Lydia Martin, of course.

"I'm here to see Derek," he answered in a small voice.

"I'm here to see Derek," she mimicked so ridiculously that Stiles almost snorted, but he was too busy trying not to piss in his pants for that. "You think I'm going to let you see him after what you've done?"

"It was a lie!"

"Thank you for pointing out that my brother's feelings were a lie," she spat. "You broke his fucking heart, Stiles."

Stiles bit his lip in frustration, desperate to see Derek as soon as possible.

"No! I mean, I lied!"

"What?"

"Listen Cora, I'm going to explain everything to you soon, but I need to see Derek. Like, right now. So I'm so happy to see you care so much about him because I would have done the same if I were in your shoes — not that I see Derek like a brother, far from that — wait that wasn't the point — I just meant I like him a lot and I promise I'll make everything good again, well, it depends on your brother actually — so, yeah, I'm off."

He bolted past the door, leaving Cora dumbfounded outside.

"Wait, why do you smell so weird?" he heard her calling.

"Rude!" he only replied.

 

* * *

 

When he opened the door to his room, he was greeted by Derek's brooding back. He was sitting on his bed, reading something on his phone.

"I said I didn't want your cookies, Cora," he sighed.

"What? You refused _cookies_?!"

Derek's head snapped so fast it should have hurt like hell, but if it did, he didn't show it. He stared at Stiles with wide eyes for a few seconds, before his face relaxed into his usual scowly face, but scowlier.

"What are you doing here, Stiles?" he mumbled quietly.

"You're all forgetting I'm living here, or what? Cora also thought she would be able to retain me from coming back here," Stiles tried to lift up the mood. Derek's face completely closed. It obviously didn't work. "Not but really, I wanted to tell you something," Stiles tried again.

"Listen, Stiles, you don't have to. I know how to take a no. And I know what you've been doing, you know. You should have told me you had a mate, I wouldn't have made a fool out of myself last week."

"A mate? I have a mate?" Stiles repeated.

"Don't play dumb. You've been off for six days, coincidentally the length of an omega heat, and now you're coming back smelling all weird," Derek growled.

"I would love it if you guys quit saying _my_ scent is weird," Stiles frowned. "It's not even weird. My dad _loves_ my scent. Well, he's my dad, but Scott doesn't mind it either. Scott's my best friend so that doesn't prove my point, but I swear my scent is not weird. Or maybe it is," he gasped. "And no one dared to tell me. Maybe that's why I never managed to get a girlfriend or a boyfriend back in high school —"

"No Stiles, I don't mean your scent, I meant that foreign omega scent you've been carrying off. It's not weird per se, it actually smells really good," Derek sighed, massaging his temple. "But it's not your usual scent. You usually smell like mint and trees, and now you smell sweeter. Strawberries, I don't know."

Stiles looked at him pointedly.

"Yeah, strawberries. It's my scent."

Derek stilled all at once. Then his eyes slowly widened in realization.

" _You're an omega,_ " he whispered. Stiles laughed nervously.

"… Surprise?"

"Oh my god, you're an omega."

Derek was now standing, freezing for a few second, and then he started to pace around the room.

"That explains so many things, oh my god. That first day when I threatened you and pinned you on the wall, growling you not to touch omegas like that. I ordered an omega not to touch another omega. I slept in the same room as an omega for months. YOU slept with an alpha for months, are you fucking crazy?" he babbled. It was the first time Stiles saw him talking so much and so fast. "And I lashed out at you for using alpha assets you don't _even_ possess! You must be so mad at me, Stiles, I'm sorry, I understand why you rejected me like that, I mean, this must have been so ridiculous to you—"

"Wait, I should be mad? Aren't you the one who should be mad? I mean, I lied to you for six months."

Derek stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at Stiles hesitantly.

"You don't owe me anything, Stiles. I mean, I would have appreciated you told me before I yelled at you and made a fool of myself but… I'm sure you had your reasons. It's not like you did it to trick me in particular or something. That said, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry at all. I feel stupid and furious, to be honest."

Stiles' hopes went up to crash down a few instants later. His face twisted in a grimace.

"So… this thing between us… Well, I've come here to clear the fact that I'm a hoax. I really needed to tell you before starting something. But I'll understand if you don't want to anymore. I treated you like shit."

Derek went from frowning to surprised then almost desperate in a matter of seconds.

"What? No! I said it, I don't care if you're an alpha or a beta or an omega. I like you because you're… you. I want to be with you. Badly. I was just mad at your carelessness and kind of mortified by my attitude. So many things could have turned wrong…"

Stiles laughed nervously.

"So I've been told. The things we do to enter our dream university…"

"Oh, so that's why?" Derek sighed, and sat on his bed. "I knew Henxley was shit at admissions for omegas but to think you had to go to this length in order to enter… I really need to tell my mom a few things. Hey, maybe I could see if I can get you officially registered as an omega? Her being on the board and all?"

"You could do that? You would?"

Derek nodded eagerly.

"Oh my god, this is official. I'm head over heels for you," Stiles announced.

"So you're just using me," Derek complained, but his cheeks were reddening in pleasure and he was genuinely smiling, cute bunny teeth showing out. He reached out to Stiles' hand and pulled him so the omega could fall in the bed with him. Stiles was almost sprawled on him.

"… But if you wanted to know, the feeling's mutual," he whispered in his ear.

Their face were almost touching, both gazing intently at each other. Stiles' gaze flickered down to Derek's mouth.

"Can I kiss you? I want to kiss you a lot. Have been wanting to for so long," Stiles murmured, his breath ghosting on Derek's lips.

The older man didn't answer, however, he pressed a palm on Stiles' neck before pulling him into an open-mouthed kiss. It was wet and a bit messy, it was perfect. 

They made out for almost a minute before Stiles pulled out to catch his breath. His cheeks were flushed, pupils dilated, and hair all messed up. Derek wasn't in better shape.

"I think I died and went to heaven," Stiles said matter-of-factly.

Derek squeezed his ass and Stiles gave a small yelp of surprise before grinning.

"I think you're very much alive," Derek stated solemnly.

"And so is Derek junior," Stiles teased as Derek shifted uncomfortably under Stiles, wincing at the words.

"Don't call it Derek junior. It's terrible. Also, I don't want you to feel awkward, feel free to ignore it. It's a natural reaction to your unintentional grinding on me," Derek gulped and Stiles hummed. "I want to take it slow. I'm serious about you."

"Whatever you want, Mr. Alpha," Stiles answered cheekily, ignoring the flutter in his chest.

"God, don't say that."

"What? I-", something hard touched his thigh. "Oh my god. You like being called that. Freak," he teased.

"Shut up, Stiles," Derek replied without any bite, rolling his eyes.

They fell in a comfortable silence, still on one another and legs tangled in a mess at the end of the bed, until Derek spoke again.

"And don't think I'm letting you sleep in an alpha men dorms tonight. I'm totally bringing you to the omega men dorms later. There are so few of them, there must be plenty of room."

"You know I can defend myself. And if you're here—"

"I'm not taking any chances," Derek cut in. "And I don't want any alphas to smell or see you tonight," he continued, nuzzling his face in Stiles' neck. "You smell so good. Way better than the mint and pine."

Stiles laughed heartily and tightened his arm around Derek even more.  


 

* * *

 

_Two months later_

 

"So? How did it go?" Derek stood up as soon as Stiles closed the door behind him.

"They are not going to expel me. But I have to make sure to keep up my grades."

"I would have gone on rampage if they had expelled you," Derek growled.

Stiles sighed and took Derek's hand in his, and they left the administration building. It had almost been two months since Stiles dropped his cover in front of Derek, and they had talked to Talia Hale the morning after. Naturally, it became known by the administration, then the students, and the local papers. Some had been impressed by how long he managed to hide his identity, others had found it funny, but most of them had found it appalling how he had to go to such lengths to study to Henxley. There had been a lot of pressure from the students' board and the media, but also from members of Henxley's board: Talia had been entirely backing up Stiles from the beginning. Henxley had now to revise their acceptation politics.

Stiles' dad, of course, didn't take the news about Stiles very well. He had phoned Stiles and he had screamed at him for what seemed like hours, but Stiles knew that if his dad was so angry, it was because he cared about him, so he accepted the remonstrances without arguing.

"You've already done a lot for me, Derek," he said as he traced circles with his thumb on the back of Derek's hand.

"Never enough," Derek muttered.

"Pshh, stop saying that. I want you to kiss me. Why aren't you kissing me yet?"

Derek rolled his eyes at Stiles' antics and leaned in to connect his lips with Stiles', not without enthusiasm. Stiles smiled, encircling Derek at his waist as he gladly answered the kiss.

Yeah, entering his dream college as an alpha. _Still the best idea he ever had._

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if it feels a bit rushed. this has been in my drafts for ages so i wrapped it up.  
> feedback is love. thanks a lot for reading!


End file.
